Pride and Drama
by AshaLeah14
Summary: Netherfield Park is a small boarding school in the town of Hertfordshire where new students are extremely rare. So when three new students, two of which are male (and single), enrol in the school, Heather starts to excitedly arrange matches between them and her friends. Total Drama turns Pride and Prejudice. With moments of Aleheather, Duncney, Gidgette and Gwent.
1. It is a truth universally acknowledged

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife. However when said man is only in high school, every girl in the same school considers herself an eligible girlfriend and will do whatever it takes to impress him.

Heather ran through the halls of the school, despite the rule that bans such behaviour, right to her boyfriend, Alejandro's dorm. She gave herself a second to catch her breath before knocking impatiently on the door until it opened. She pushed passed Alejandro to get inside.

"You'll never believe what I just heard!" she said excitedly, completely ignoring Alejandro's roommate Owen, who was laying on his bed.

"I'm sure that I will believe it because I always believe you, you know that," Alejandro replied. Heather rolled her eyes.

"Ugh, whatever! Aren't you going to ask what I heard?"

"You didn't exactly storm in and say 'guess what' so I didn't now I had to," Alejandro pointed out. "Besides, I know you're going to tell me anyway." Heather ignored his first comment and, unable to hold in her excitement any more, began to tell Alejandro what she heard.

"Three new people are coming to this school! In our year level!" she exclaimed. "Do you know how long it's been since there have been new people our own age? There hasn't been anyone since we first started. I'm so sick of these people! It'll be nice to see some fresh faces."

"Because the reason for your excitement isn't because you have someone new to set your friends up with?"

"Well, I mean, that's part of the reason," Heather said. "And I know that both of the guys are single because I specifically asked Headmaster Chris and he said the were. So is the girl, but that's of less interest to me." Alejandro knew that by 'asked' she meant 'pestered until he finally told her'.

"Do you know the names of these people?" Alejandro asked, though it was clear he still wasn't really phased by the whole situation. Heather didn't care and continued anyway.

"I don't know their first names because I only caught a glance of Chris's computer before he caught me snooping, but the brother and sister's last name is Bingley. I don't know about the other one..." she stood for a moment trying to remember the other one's name before shaking her head and turning back to Alejandro. "Anyway, I'm going back up to Chris's office to see if I can figure out what dorm they're staying in. We have to be the first ones to introduce ourselves."

"Maybe when you find out which dorm he's in you should let your friends go by themselves. I don't know if I like the idea of two single boys seeing you without knowing you're unavailable," Alejandro told her, concern in his voice.

"Like I'd let them go alone! They'd probably screw everything up. Maybe you should come with me if you're so concerned?" Heather suggested.

"I don't think so." Alejandro said bluntly.

"Fine, but you know that Gwen's going to try and see them as well, and if she gets in first I'm going to blame you! As much as she denies wanting a boyfriend, I know she's had a crush on Trent since like forever."

"If she's so into Trent why would she want someone she doesn't even know?" Heather rolled her eyes and scoffed in frustration at her boyfriend's ignorance.

"That's exactly the point!" she explained. "They don't know her, so therefore they don't know how plain she is! She'll probably try and seduce one of them to make Trent jealous."

"You really don't like her, do you?" Alejandro asked, bemusedly.

"I just don't get why Courtney's so chummy with her!" Heather complained. "Their friendship probably wouldn't bother me so much if I had a project, like setting up my other friends but they aren't interested in anyone I suggest!"

"Maybe you should let them find their own relationships," Alejandro suggested. "I'm sure plenty more suitable young men will come through."

"As if!" Heather cried, as if her friends lives depended on them dating the two new boys. "In our entire schooling these are the first new people in our year. Weren't you listening? Hertfordshire isn't a big enough town for new people to just start falling from the sky and enrol in Netherfield Park!" She threw her arms in the air in frustration, giving up on trying to explain the importance of the matter to Alejandro, and stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

* * *

That night at dinner, Heather ate her meal in silence, still annoyed at Alejandro for not siding with her in that her friends needed to meet Bingley and his friend, and more so at the fact that when she went back to the headmaster's office to find out which dorm they were in she found the office had been locked. The rest of their friends weren't talking either. Wanting to break the silence, Alejandro decided to bring up the subject of Bingley, thinking the news he had on the topic might interest Heather.

"Do you know why this Bingley fellow isn't dining with us tonight?" he asked.

"Have they even arrived yet?" asked Courtney.

"They've arrived but I don't know why they aren't here," Heather said forcefully.

"Miss O'Halloran was going to introduce us," Courtney told them. "You know, when she gets back from her trip with the younger students." Heather was outraged at this piece of information.

'What? There is no way I'm letting her introduce you! She'll ruin everything with her bad attempts at being a teenager," Heather said, and that was final. "Besides, she doesn't get back from her trip until tomorrow afternoon and I want to meet them before then."

"Why don't you introduce them yourself?" Alejandro said. Heather scoffed.

"Yeah, right. 'Oh hey Bingley, I know we've never met and I don't even know your first name but here's my friends Bridgette and Courtney.' Because that isn't completely weird," Heather said sarcastically.

"Hey why wouldn't you introduce us?" Courtney's younger sister, Katie complained, referring to herself and her friend Sadie.

"The only reason we let you sit with us is because you have no other friends," Courtney told her. "So the real question is, why WOULD she introduce you?" Their other friend, Noah, merely sighed and shook his head, clearly bored by the chosen topic of conversation. He was reading at the table, another of the banned rules which no one seemed to follow and besides were never enforced. The headmaster, Chris McLean, made so many rules that it was impossible for even himself to remember them all.

"Whatever, I'm totally over the whole Bingley thing anyway," Heather told them unconvincingly.

"Well that's too bad," Alejandro said. "Because I already took it upon myself to figure out which dorm he's in and introduced myself. He said you can go and see him after dinner, if you wish." Heather looked at him with a mixture of shock and excitement.

"Well, I'm done!" Heather announced, pushing her plate away from her and standing up.

"Bridge, Court, care to join me?"

* * *

On their way out of the dining hall, the five ladies (since Katie and Sadie had insisted on coming with them) and Noah (who claimed to want to 'protect' them, though clearly just as curious to meet the new people) happened to run into Gwen and her long-time crush and friend, Trent.

"Oh hey Gwen, Trent," Courtney greeted them. "What are you guys doing?"

"We just went to meet the new guys," Gwen told them. Heather rolled her eyes.

"Bingley and his friend?" Bridgette asked, even though she knew there were no other new guys. "What are they like?"

"Totally hot, very rich and actually really down to earth," Gwen said dreamily. "Well, Bingley was. His friend wasn't there. We're actually on his way to meet his sister now if you'd like to come?" Noah seemed interested in the offer but before he could say anything Heather cut him off.

"No thanks, we'd like to meet Bingley first." Heather led the group down the hall to the room Alejandro had told her to go to. She too a deep breath in and knocked. They were greeted by a blonde boy who was wearing a big grin.

"Hey dudettes!" he said. "You must be Al's friends." Heather folded her arms.

"Alejandro doesn't like to be calleed Al," she informed him.

"My mistae," he said, still smiling. "My name's Geoff by the way."

"I'm Heather. This is Katei, Sadie and Noah," Heather said quickly, trying to get the unimportant introductions out of the way. "And these are my two best friends Courtney and Bridgette!" Geoff had a very friendly manner about him that Heather liked, particularly for Bridgette.

"So cool to meet you all!" he said.

"Well I'm done here," Noah said, his curiosity not being big enough to care about Geoff's friend. "See you guys later." He walked off. Not wanting Geoff to linger too long on Noah's departure, Heather quickly began talking again.

"Where's your friend?" she asked, just as she saw someone sneaking in the window holding one of the mugs from the dining hall.

"Oh, he uh... went out," was Geoff's response.

"Out the window?" Courtney asked, noticing the stranger. Geoff turned around to see his friend had returned from being 'out'. He laughed nervously.

"This is my friend Duncan," Geoff introduced. "Duncan this is Heather, Katie, Sadie, Courtney and Bridgette.

"Hey," Duncan said in response. Heather didn't like the look of him at all - his green mohawk was awful and he seemed completely rude, not to mention the fact that he had clearly just stolen a mug from the dining hall without even having the courtesy of showing up to dine with everyone else. Noticing that Heather was too distracted with her disgust at Geoff's friend, Bridgette decided to step up and lead the conversation.

"I expect you're coming to the party this weekend?" she asked him. "The entire school will be there."

"Oh awesome! I love a good party!" Geoff exclaimed. "I'll definitely be there."

"Great! And I hope your friend, uh, Duncan and your sister..."

"Oh, Dakota," Geoff supplied.

"Right, I hope they'll come too!" Bridgette smiled at him. "We should really be going now. It was great meeting you!" Katie and Sadie groaned. They didn't want to leave.

"Awesome to meet you too!" Geoff closed the door and Bridgette and Courtney walked ahead of the other three.

"He is totally into you!" Courtney whispered to Bridgette, and they both giggled.


	2. Barely Tolerable

Parties such as this were often held in the dining hall of Netherfield. The long tables were cleared away to make room for dancing and everyone dressed up to get into the spirit. It was rare if someone didn't attend and while Noah always trid to get out of it he was always dragged along. Alcohol was not permitted but some of the older students would usually bring a flask and spike the punch. Headmaster Chris pretended he didn't know about this and if any of the teachers brought attention to the fact he would send the responsible students to their dorms but didn't bother to punish them when they returned not ten minutes later. Chef Hatchet would always stand by the servery and scowl at what the students were doing to his precious dining hall.

By the time Geoff and Duncan entered the dining hall the party had well and truly started. Heather spotted them as soon as the walked in and waved for them to join her.

"So glad to see you make it!" Heather said when Geoff approached them. "And I know Heather is especially glad."

"Heather!" Bridgette scolded. Heather smiled at her. Geoff and Bridgette made eye contact and Bridgette looked away shyly.

"I don't think you've met my sister," Geoff said. That was when everyone seemed to notice the tall blonde girl who had arrived with Geoff and Duncan. "Everyone this is Dakota, Dakota this is everyone." Dakota's eyes were glued to the cell phone she was holding and her fingers were moving across the keys at great speed. She glanced up at them

"Uh-huh, hi," she said, immediately going back to texting. She stopped for a moment and looked at Duncan. "I'm thirsty, let's get some punch." Duncan shrugged as a ind of agreement and followed her to the snack table.

"Hey, Bridgette, would you maybe want to dance?" Geoff asked Bridgette nervously. She smiled at him.

"Of course!" she said, and they headed onto the dance floor.

"The more I see of Duncan the less I like him," Heather said to Courtney when it was only them and Noah that remained seated. Katie and Sadie had been on the dance floor all night and Alejandro was talking to some of his other friends.

"I know what you mean!" Courtney agreed. "He thinks he's so much cooler than everybody else, like breaking the rules makes you so above everyone. I mean, doesn't he know that owning sunglasses doesn't automatically make you 'cool'? And he's just so rude to everybody! Dakota is just as bad. They're both so anti-social, his clothes are atrocious and don't even get me started on his hair!" Heather raised an eyebrow at her.

"Precisely," she said, and while she agreed with everything Courtney had just said she thought the rant was a bit excessive. She went back to watching Bridgette and Geoff, who were still dancing and seemed to be thoroughly enjoying each other's company. Noah yawned.

"I'm going to bed," he told them. Courtney grabbed his arm.

"I don't think so!" she said. He rolled his eyes.

"Once again you dragged me into coming, once again I stayed for at least a little bit. I'm tired, and I hate most of these people." Courtney reluctantly let go of his arm and stood up.

"Come on Heather let's dance," she said, and Heather agreed.

* * *

Halfway through the night Courtney walked over to the snack table to get herself and Heather some punch. As far as she'd seen, Duncan hadn't got up to dance at all during the night and the only person he'd talked to was Geoff's sister Dakota. Bridgette and Geoff had been dancing together most of the night so it was a surprise to Courtney when Geoff was at the snack table with Duncan instead of Bridgette.

"Come on dude!" Geoff was saying. "It's a party, you've gotta come and dance at least for one song!"

"I told you man, parties just aren't my thing," Duncan replied. "Besides, who would I dance with? I don't wanna seem gay by dancing with a guy and most of the chicks here are either incredibly ugly or taken."

"Seriously? Everyone here is so cool!" Geoff countered. "And the place is crawling with hot chicks!"

"Look man, the prettiest single girl here has already been claimed by you. I think Heather's kinda hot but she's with that Alejandro guy."

"What about Bridgette's friend Courtney?" Geoff suggested. This alerted Courtney to the fact that they either didn't know she was there or thought she was out of earshot. She knew she shouldn't eavesdrop but she wanted to know what Duncan's impression of her was before leaving.

"Yeah she's hot but can you imagine trying to have a conversation with her?" Duncan said as he shook his head. "I mean sure it's just a dance but she'd probably get attached and I dunno, she seems like the kind of girl who follows the rules. I don't wanna deal with that. Why don't you go give that punch to Bridgette? She's probably waiting for you." Geoff nodded.

"At least think about it. Besides aren't girls that follow the rules the best kind? Otherwise where's the fun?" Geoff turned around and headed back towards Bridgette. Duncan stalked off, presumably to either talk to Dakota again or go to bed where he would be more welcome.

Courtney, both shocked and offended at the conversation she had just heard, went off to tell Heather, who she found standind in a corner talking to Alejandro.

"I can't believe that Duncan guy!" Courtney annouced, interrupting their conversation. She went on to tell them what he'd said about her.

"How dare his first impression of you be completely right and yet so offensive!" Heather said, not sarcastically, when Courtney had finished. Alejandro nodded in agreement.

"How is Bridgette going with Geoff?" he asked. This seemed to remove any hint of anger from both Heather and Courtney as they excitedly started to tell Alejandro everything.

"He's been dancing with her all night!" Courtney exclaimed.

"I think he danced with Gwen for one song but he was totally not into it," Heather added. "I've gotta say, my matchmaking skills are amazing!" Courtney rolled her eyes.

"I'm going to find Katie," she said. "She's had guys chatting her up all night and you know how excited she gets... I'll talk to you guys later."

* * *

Later that night, Bridgette and Courtney lay awake in their dorm, unable to sleep from thinking of the nights events.

"He's exactly what every guy should be," Bridgette said, starting the conversation without needing to name who it was she was talking about. "So friendly and fun... And so confident without being cocky."

"And attractive, don't forget attractive," Courtney reminded her, as if she could forget. "Which, as well, every guy should be if he can. He does have everything then, if the rumours about how rich he is are true."

"I can't believe he wanted to dance with me all night," Bridgette went on. "Me of all people! I didn't expect that."

"Really?" Courtney was surprised. "I guess that's the difference between you and me. Compliments like that always surprise you."

"And what, you expect them?"

"So I should! You too. You're way prettier than most of the girls at this school and he definitely saw that. I approve."

"You approve?"

"You've liked way worse guys before," Courtney declared.

"Courtney!" Bridgette said, shocked, but they both began to laugh.

"It's true!" Courtney promised through the laughter. "You never have anything bad to say about anyone, not even Heather when she tries to set us up." Bridgette knew it was true. She bit her lip happily, thinking about Geoff.

"Goodnight, Court."

"Goodnight."


	3. A turn about the room

The following Monday the girls were all sitting in English class, gossiping about the party and, of course, Geoff and Bridgette.

"I think he really likes you, Bridge," Gwen said. "He couldn't stay away from you!"

"You're forgetting that he danced with you, too," Bridgette reminded her.

"Yeah, for one song! He was with you the rest of the night," Gwen pointed out. "Except when he was talking to Duncan. I can't believe the only nice thing he had to say about Courtney was that she's hot!"

"Ugh, he's the worst!" Heather said. "Even if he had asked you to dance, please tell me you would have said no."

"Definitely!" Courtney said without hesitation. "He's the most repulsive boy I've ever met. And he stole a mug! Isn't he supposed to be rich? Why couldn't he just buy one?" The girls all agreed.

"Have you talked to Geoff since Saturday night?" Gwen asked Bridgette.

"Not really," she replied, disappointment in her voice. "We had a brief conversation at lunch yesterday and again this morning but it's so hard when everyone else is always around."

"Well in that case we'll have to get you some alone time," Heather decided. The other three looked at her in confusion.

"How?" Courtney asked.

"Girls, time for gossip is over!" Miss O'Halloran said to them. "I know you're still excited from the party on Saturday night but now is the time for work!"

"You aren't telling Noah off!" Heather complained.

"Yes but at least Noah is reading," Miss O'Halloran said.

"Miss O'Halloran!" Sierra called from the front of the room.

"I told you, call me Blaineley!" Miss O'Halloran reminded her before walking over to help. Heather looked at Sierra, coming up with a plan.

"I think I have an idea," she said, and with that she returned to her work, leaving the other girls wondering what the plan was.

* * *

That afternoon when school had finished, Heather, Bridgette and Courtney had arranged to have afternoon tea at the Meryton Cafe, a popular spot in town that required a reservation at least a month in advance. Courtney and Bridgette were in their dorm getting ready when Heather showed up holding a cup of tea.

"Heather!" Courtney greeted her, then noticed the mug she was holding. "What's that?" Heather grinned.

"Oh, you know, just some tea I thought I'd give to Bridgette. I invited Geoff to afternoon tea so I thought you might like to settle the nerves a bit." Bridgette took the mug hesitantly.

"Gee, thanks Heather..." she said, taking a sip. She grimaced at the taste but swallowed it anyway, not wanting to seem impolite.

"Well make sure you drink it all up now! Don't want those nerves making you say the wrong thing," Heather encouraged her. Bridgette finished the tea and, after taking the last gulp, clutched her stomach.

"I don't feel well," she groaned.

"Oh no! Oh and I was so looking forward to afternoon tea!" Heather said fakely, clearly pleased with how this was working out. They were interrupted by a knock on the door. "Right on time!" Heather opened the door to see Geoff.

"Hey are we ready to go?" he said.

"Unfortunately Bridgette has fallen ill, so we may have to stay here and take care of her!" Heather said sadly. "Such a shame. I was really looking forward to having afternoon tea with Courtney!" Geoff looked at Bridgette sympathetically.

"Well maybe I could look after her while you guys go out?" Geoff suggested. Heather immediately lightened up.

"Brilliant! See you Bridge! Come on Courtney." Courtney and Heather left the dorm and headed off to the cafe.

"Where did you get that tea?" Courtney asked Heather. Heather smiled.

"When Sierra was trying to get Cody to like her I remembered hearing her say something about 'Love Me' tea. Remember when Cody was sick for those two weeks last year?" Courtney nodded. "It was the tea Sierra was giving him. So I asked her if she had any left and if I could have some." Heather shrugged happily.

"You're so evil," Courtney told her, shaking her head.

* * *

When Heather and Courtney returned from their outing, Courtney found that Bridgette and Geoff weren't in her dorm. She went to his, knowing that's where they would have gone, and knocked on the door. She was greeted by a very sour-faced Dakota. She plastered a smile on her face.

"Oh, how nice to see you!" she said kindly, despite the fact that she had been nothing but rude to Courtney and her friends on Saturday night. "What would you like?" Courtney eyed her suspiciously.

"I'd like to see Bridgette. I have reason to believe she's here." Dakota kept the smile on her face as she opened the door. Bridgette was in one of the beds (presumably Geoff's since Duncan was sitting on the other, whittling a piece of wood) and Geoff was in a chair next to her, holding her hand. When he saw Courtney he stood up and Courtney sat in his place.

"What was in that tea Heather gave me?" Bridgette asked faintly. Courtney smiled at her sympathetically.

"Who knows? She got it from Sierra..." They both laughed. Courtney turned to Geoff. "Why is she here?"

"She had to use the bathroom and my dorm was closer on the way back," he explained. Courtney nodded. Dakota sat next to Duncan, seeming impatient for both Courtney and Bridgette to leave.

"Are you feeling better?" Courtney asked Bridgette. Bridgette nodded.

"Slightly," she said.

"You're welcome to stay here until she's completely better," Geoff told her. Courtney did this and her, Duncan, Geoff and Dakota talked about the school and the people they had met so far. Courtney found that her first impression of Duncan had been right, and he was completely arrogant and only spoke when spoken to, however he did seem to keep looking at Courtney when he thought she didn't notice. Dakota seemed a lot more pleasant, despite her rudeness on Saturday night. She didn't allow Courtney to tease Duncan for his arrogance, but aside from a strange admiration for Duncan Dakota was lovely. Geoff, as expected, was a delight, and when Bridgette was well enough to happily join in the conversation he offered to walk Courtney and Bridgette back to their dorm. Bridgette politely declined and the girls gossiped about him on their walk back.

When they arrived at their dorm, they opened the door to find Heather sitting on Bridgette's bed.

"How did you get in here?" Courtney asked, as Heather didn't have a key. Heather grinned up at them. She ignored Courtney's question.

"Cody and Sierra broke up," she announced. Courtney groaned.


	4. The last person who could make you happy

"You can't just assume that because they stopped dating he wants another girlfriend immediately afterwards," Courtney said to Heather the next morning at breakfast as Heather scanned the room for Cody. Heather looked at her and frowned.

"Everyone knows that the popular guy always has to have a girlfriend!" Heather told her. "Besides, you don't have to start dating straight away. You just have to be the first girl he sees..." Courtney rolled her eyes, tired of her friend's ridiculous schemes to get her a boyfriend.

"I don't know why he's popular. He's short, skinny and far too confident for his own good," Courtney replied. "And honestly I don't really..."

"I see him!" Heather exclaimed, cutting Courtney off. Courtney sighed and went back to her breakfast. "Cody come sit with us!" she called to him. He gave her a slightly confused look, as he'd barely spoken to their group before. Since Sierra was already sitting with his friends and he didn't want to join her, he headed towards Heather and sat next to her.

"Hi Heather, Al, Noah, ladies." He winked at the girls and Alejandro shuddered as Cody said his name, but didn't say anything. He knew Heather would only go off at her later for ruining her friend's chances with Cody.

"Cody, you're looking well," Heather told him, giving Courtney a look that said 'talk to him or else'. Courtney glared at her so Bridgette stepped up instead.

"I'm sorry to hear about you and Sierra," she said sincerely.

"It's okay," he replied. "I knew the relationship wouldn't last much longer."

"Probably because it was reliant on her infatuation with you," Courtney said under her breath. Heather heard her and kicked her under the table. "Ow!"

"So Cody do you thin you'll jump right back in the game?" Heather asked, attempting to be casual. He was a bit taken aback by the question but he still answered.

"I dunno," he replied thoughtfully. "I guess it depends on if the right girl comes along I might get straight into it. I wouldn't want to hurt Sierra by going in too soon, though." Heather nodded in understanding.

"Courtney was just saying how she'd like to get back out there!" Heather told him. Courtney glared at her.

"No I was- ow!" she cried as she earned herself another kick from Heather. Courtney scoffed and stood up. "I don't have to put up with this!" And with that she stormed off. Heather sat there with her mouth open, furious that Courtney had refused to stay and talk. Bridgette saved the day again by beginning a conversation with Cody.

* * *

When Heather arrived to English class Cody had already taken a seat away from Sierra, and Heather decided to join him instead of sitting with Bridgette and Gwen like she usually would. Courtney walked in not long after and, upon seeing Heather, stuck her nose in the air and sat next to Gwen. Heather frowned, clearly annoyed that Courtney wasn't going along with the plan to get her with Cody.

"Hey Cody, how's it going?" she said, getting out her books. He was surprised at the amount of attention he was getting from her.

"Things are going good, Heather, thanks," he replied. She smiled at him.

"So have you thought much about what we were saying this morning? About getting back out there?"

"Well, I..." he began.

"I know you don't want to hurt Sierra," Heather said understandingly. "But it'll help you get over her if you find someone else." Sierra turned around in her seat to glare at Cody. He sighed.

"I did have fun at breakfast this morning," he admitted. "Bridgette's very..."

"Bridgette's practically already in a relationship!" Heather interrupted. "Courtney on the other hand, while not as easy going as Bridgette, is still just as, if not more, attractive and very much available."

"Oh," was the only response Cody could give her. He turned around to see Courtney and Gwen chatting away. He smiled, though not at Courtney as Heather suspected. This seemed to please Heather and she turned back to her work.

"Now don't forget that on Thursday we're taking a class trip around town so you won't be needing your books!" Miss O'Halloran reminded the class at the end of the lesson. Everyone packed their books up and headed out the door for lunch.

"Will you be sitting with us again?" Heather asked Cody as they left the room.

"Sure, if that's okay with you and your friends?" Heather nodded and they headed towards the dining hall.

"Does anyone know when the next party will be?" Geoff asked the group as they picked at their plates of unknown meat. Chef Hatchet's meals were always revolting and no one was quite sure if this was a boarding school trait or if it was the problem of Chef Hatchet.

"Parties only happen when students approach Headmaster Chris about it," Sadie explained. Katie looked at Geoff excitedly.

"You should talk to him about it!" she told him. Sadies face brightened.

"Oh yes do it Geoff, please!" Geoff smiled at the girls and Duncan rolled his eyes. Courtney smiled and shook her head at how easily excited her little sister could get.

"Sure, why not?" Geoff agreed. Katie and Sadie squealed with excitement. "As long as everyone here shows up. That includes you, Cody, man. And Noah." Cody smiled and nodded at him. Noah just rolled his eyes. "That's settled then. I'll see you all later." With that Geoff left for his next class.

* * *

On Thursday during their class trip to town, the girls and Cody sat in the Meryton Cafe. They were supposed to be doing research for a class project but none of them really wanted to and Miss O'Halloran didn't mind, since they'd made their reservation as soon as they'd been told about the trip.

"After this we should go shopping for what we're going to wear to Geoff's party next weekend," Heather decided.

"I already have something for the party," Courtney told her. At that moment, Katie and Sadie came up to their table and sat down. "Katie are you skipping class again?" Courtney looked at her disapprovingly.

"No, Courtney, I'm not skipping class again," Katie said. "Our teacher let us out early because we'd finished all our work." Her and Sadie smiled and Courtney rolled her eyes.

"We reserved this table for us, so if you don't mind..." Courtney began.

"Let it go, Court," Gwen told her. "It's fine." Courtney frowned and folded her arms. As she did this, Gwen noticed Trent walk in with a very attractive friend. They walked up to the counter and ordered their beverages.

"Trent!" Gwen called to him. He looked up at her and smiled. He and his friend walked over to them as they picked up their drinks.

"Hello ladies! Cody, Noah," Trent said. "This is my friend Justin," he introduced. "Justin these are some of my friends, Gwen, Heather, Courtney Bridgette, Noah and Cody."

"Enchanted," he said with a smile, kissing Courtney's hand. She blushed.

"I'm Katie and this is my friend Sadie," Katie added, a little annoyed that Trent hadn't bothered with their introductions.

"So great to meet you all!" Justin said, and everybody swooned.

"Justin goes to Longbourne, you know, the public school in the area," Trent explained. "We met at Hockey Camp." The girls all sighed in admiration and Noah went back to reading his book.

"Justin will you coming to the party next weekend?" Katie asked excitedly.

"I don't know, isn't it a Netherfield Park thing?" Justin asked.

"Girls, stop pestering him!" Trent scolded playfully.

"No, it's okay," Justin said coolly. "I'd love to come." He winked at Courtney and she giggled.

"We should be heading back to school," Courtney announced. "Justin, would you care to walk with us?"

"Of course!" he said. As they were walking out of the cafe they ran into Geoff and Duncan.

"Is everyone skipping school today?" Courtney wondered aloud, annoyed at having to see Duncan again.

"Oh hey Geoff!" Bridgette greeted. "What are you doing here?"

"We're picking up coffees for the headmaster," Geoff told them. "That dude is so cool, just letting us out of class for practically no reason." Duncan and Justin stared icily at each other as everyone stood there in awkward silence. Katie was the one to break it.

"Is it okay if Justin comes to the party next weekend?" she asked Geoff. He was a little taken aback by the request.

"Uh, sure Katie, why not? The more the merrier right?" he replied. Duncan sneered at Justin.

"Well, we better get going!" Heather said quickly before Duncan could start a fight. "See you at lunch." They continued out the door. Courtney and Justin walked behind everyone else at a steady pace.

"Does Duncan hate you for some reason?" Courtney asked in relation to the moment in the cafe. Justin sighed. "If you don't mind me asking."

"I don't mind," Justin said. "When I was taken away from my parents as a child, his family became my foster family. His father loved him like a second son, almost more than he loved Duncan. This made Duncan incredibly jealous of me, and who wouldn't be?" He gestured to his body and Courtney couldn't think of anyone who wouldn't be jealous. "Because he was so jealous of me, he told his father - our father - that when I went out on Saturday nights I was dealing drugs, when really I was working at a soup kitchen for the homeless. His father kicked me out so I was forced into another home that was much worse." Courtney was shocked at this dramatic and horrible story.

"I hate that guy!" she said in frustration. "Everything he does just makes me want to hit him where it hurts! I guess this means you won't want to come to the party next weekend."

"Of course not!" Justin assured her. "I'm completely over the whole thing. If he doesn't want to see me that's his business, and he can be the one not to go. Let's not waste another breath on him." Courtney agreed and they walked the rest of the way without bringing him up again.


	5. A rule while dancing

Headmaster Chris had happily agreed to have another party the following weekend when Geoff approached him about it. As usual, it was well attended and everyone was having a good time. This was with the exception of Noah, who had again been forced into coming, and Courtney who was still anticipating the arrival of Justin and continued to look around for any sign of him. Geoff and Bridgette were sitting next to each other, chatting away happily.

"If she wants him to stay she's going to have to tell him how she feels," Gwen told Courtney, looking in the direction of Geoff and Bridgette. Courtney stopped looking around and turned to her friend.

"How can she tell him how she feels if she doesn't even know herself?" Courtney replied. "Besides, if she comes on too strong she'll probably scare him off. Anyway it should be him that declares his feelings first."

"Don't count on that happening," Gwen told her.

"Why not?" Courtney demanded.

"Well I doubt his sister or friend give him much encouragement. It's pretty clear they don't really approve," Gwen pointed out.

"Why shouldn't they approve? Bridgette's as good if not better than any other girl at this school."

"She got to be here because she got a scholarship, they got here for their money," Gwen reminded her. Courtney rolled her eyes.

"As if that even matters! What century are you in? You think they don't approve because she's SMART?" Courtney scoffed. Before Gwen could reply, Cody walked up and joined their conversation. He had taken a fancy to Gwen, but in order to win her affections he thought he would try and make her jealous by pursuing Courtney.

"Courtney, hey," he said. Courtney folded her arms.

"What?" She demanded.

"Do you wanna dance?" He asked. She sighed.

"Fine," she said, not wanting to continue arguing with Gwen. As they walked onto the dance floor she caught Heather's eye and Heather smiled smugly. Courtney and Cody danced for two songs before Courtney excused herself to get some punch. She went over to the snack table to get herself some when Duncan came over to her.

"Courtney," he greeted her.

"Oh hello, Duncan," she said in disgust.

"I was hoping you'd dance with me when you've finished your punch," he told her. She was tempted to say 'why would I want to dance with you?' but given the conversation she had earlier with Gwen, she thought it was best not to be horrible to him so that wasn't an excuse for Geoff not to date Bridgette.

"Sure, why not?" She replied through gritted teeth. As Duncan left she was again joined by Cody. She rolled her eyes, wondering why the two worst possible people at the school wanted to dance and talk to her of all people.

"Was that Duncan? I wanted to introduce myself," Cody said.

"Why?" She asked.

"You're gonna think its lame..." He said a little sheepishly. She sighed and silently cursed herself for what she was about to say.

"No, I promise I won't," she said sarcastically.

"Well, if you insist. I kinda want to join the cheer team, but the captain, Lindsay won't let me without the approval of her cousin," Cody explained.

"And Duncan's her cousin?" Courtney asked, a little surprised.

"Exactly! Now that he's enrolled here she isn't letting anyone new in without talking to him first." With that, Cody went after Duncan to talk to him about the cheer team. Courtney watched in amusement as Cody tapped Duncan on the shoulder. Duncan turned around to face Cody, arms folded and looking very intimidating. Cody began talking, his brow sweating with nervousness. Duncan said very little I'm return before turning back to his conversation with Dakota. Cody looked lost as he turned around and walked off. Courtney laughed as Gwen showed up beside her.

"About what I said before, I..." She started before Courtney cut her off.

"It's fine, I know you didn't mean it," she assured Gwen. "Anyway I have something to tell you. I stupidly agreed to dance with Duncan when I've finished my punch! I'd promised myself that would never happen. Ugh! I wish Justin was here." Gwen smiled.

"Well I'm sure he isn't that bad," she said. Courtney gave her a look of disdain and they both laughed.

"Well, I'm done," Courtney said, referring to her punch. "I guess I should go find Duncan... Wish me luck." Gwen did so and Courtney left her to find Duncan.

He wasn't hard to find and they went straight onto the dance floor and began dancing. The song immediately changed from a fast song to a slow song and Courtney hesitantly put her arms around his neck and he put his hands on her waist.

"Great, what a cliche," Courtney said under her breath. Then to Duncan she said, "I love this song." Duncan raised his eyebrow at her but remained silent. "It's your turn to say something. I commented on the song so you should tell me what you think of the hall or how many people showed up."

"Um, sure," he said. "What would you rather me talk about?" She sighed.

"That's a good enough reply for now I guess."

"Do you always talk when you dance?" He asked her.

"No, but it's a slow song and I don't want it to be awkward," she replied.

"Uh-huh, I don't think it's possible for you to be awkward," he told her. "Do you and your friends always go to the Meryton Cafe?" He asked, referring to their meeting there last Thursday.

"Yeah, it's the best place in town. We have reservations there for every Monday after school. It's great for meeting new people. When we ran into you on Thursday we'd just met someone new."

"Justin sure is good at making new friends. Keeping them is a little harder for him to do."

"Yes well he's been unlucky enough to lose you," Courtney said sarcastically. "I guess nothing can repair your friendship?"

"No, why?" He asked cautiously.

"Just trying to figure you out," Courtney said with a shrug.

"And have you?" He asked. The song finished.

"No. Everyone seems to have something different to say about you so you're very difficult to know properly."

"Maybe someday you will," he said, walking away leaving her to stand on the dance floor more confused than before.

* * *

When the party had died down and very few people remained, Heather, Courtney, Bridgette, Katie and Sadie all sat at one of the walls. Gwen walked up to them holding two cups. She gave one to Courtney.

"Trent just told me Justin didn't come because he had a family emergency," she informed Courtney. "Although something tells me it wouldn't have been so urgent if a certain somebody hadn't been here."

"Ugh, does Duncan have to ruin everything?" Courtney wondered angrily. Cody approached the group and Courtney rolled her eyes. He was the last person she wanted to speak to. Aside from maybe Duncan.

"Hello ladies," he said. "I was hoping I could talk to Courtney alone." Heather grinned and grabbed the arms of Gwen and Bridgette who were on either side of her.

"Come on girls, let's get some punch," she said, dragging Gwen and Bridgette away. Katie and Sadie followed behind, giggling like children. Courtney dreaded what was coming next, and was annoyed at her friends for not remaining with her despite Cody's request. Cody cleared his throat before he started talking.

"You should know that when Heather asked me to come and sit with you guys, you were almost the first person to catch my attention," he began. Courtney groaned. "I've decided to take her advice and get back out there, you know, to help me get over Sierra."

"Cody..." Courtney tried to interrupt, but Cody spoke over her.

"I'm not really good at this kind of thing," he informed her, rubbing the back of his neck. "So I'm just going to jump right in. I'd like you to be my girlfriend."

"Cody..." Courtney tried again.

"Before you say no I just want you to know that I you probably don't consider me the most attractive guy in the school, but I think I'm pretty easy to get along with. We could go to that cafe you like together, and..."

"Cody!" Courtney snapped, finally getting his attention. "I'm flattered that you asked me but I don't want to be your girlfriend."

"Are you playing hard to get? 'Cause, you know, I can wait it out..."

"Let me be perfectly clear," Courtney said, standing up. Cody was a little scared now. "I don't want to be your girlfriend now or ever. I'm not playing hard to get, I just genuinely don't think that things would ever work between us." She stormed off and Heather saw her leave and followed her.

"What happened? Did he ask you out? Did you say yes?" Heather asked, hungry for gossip.

"No, Heather! I tried to tell you before you tried to set us up but I don't want to be with him!" Courtney yelled at her.

"YOU TURNED HIM DOWN?" Heather screeched. Alejandro came walking towards them and Heather breather a sigh of relief. "Thank god! Alejandro, tell Courtney that she has to date Cody." Alejandro looked from Heather to Courtney and back again. He shrugged.

"Courtney can date who she wants," he said simply, then walked off. Heather let out a cry of frustration as Courtney smiled and headed off in the other direction.


	6. Ridiculous

The following Monday at breakfast Courtney was surprised to see that Cody was still sitting with them. She didn't bring it up, not wanting to seem rude. She assumed it was because he didn't want to return to his old group of friends because he didn't want to sit with Sierra. She sat through the entire meal without having it explained to her, and just as she was about to ask, the bell rang to indicate the end of breakfast. Cody got up to leave.

"See you babe," he said to Gwen, planting a kiss on her cheek. Courtney was speechless as everyone else got up to leave as well. She rose and hurried after Gwen.

"What just happened?" Courtney demanded. Gwen smirked.

"Did I forget to tell you?" Gwen replied. "After you turned Cody down on Saturday night we spent most of Sunday together. Turns out we have a lot in common and one thing led to another so... We're dating now."

"But he's ridiculous!" Courtney told her, outraged. Gwen turned to her.

"Courtney, I don't have guys chasing after me like you do," she said, completely serious. "I've had a crush on Trent for who knows how long and he's never going to feel the same. I just need to get over him and Cody's sweet and he cares about me." She walked off, leaving Courtney to stare after her.

* * *

At the end of the day, Courtney entered her dorm to find Bridgette laying on her bed. When she heard Courtney enter, she sat up. Her face was red and she had clearly been crying. Courtney immediately rushed to her side, sat on the bed and put her arm around her. Bridgette burst into tears and hugged Courtney, burying her head in Courtney's chest. Courtney patted her back and when she thought Bridgette had calmed down enough, she felt it was okay to talk to her.

"What happened?" She asked, holding Bridgette's shoulders. Bridgette smiled sadly at her.

"Nothing, it's stupid," she replied, shaking her head. Courtney tilted her head in sympathy.

"Anything that makes you this upset must be important to you," Courtney said. Bridgette nodded and took a deep breath.

"Geoff wasn't in any of our classes together today," she told Courtney. "I assumed he was sick or something so I asked Headmaster Chris where he was and he told me he'd asked to be moved out of his classes."

"Well he probably moved out of all of them, it isn't your fault!" Courtney said reassuringly. Bridgette shook her head.

"He only moved out of the classes with me." Her voice broke halfway through the sentence and she started to cry again. Courtney hugged her again and stroked her back.

"Do you want to go and visit his dorm? Maybe it's all just a misunderstanding," Courtney asked. Bridgette nodded and brushed the tears from her cheeks. They got up and left their dorm, heading towards Geoff's before running into Dakota.

"I hope you're not going to see my brother," she said.

"Why not?" Courtney asked defensively.

"He's very busy at the moment and not in the mood for visitors. Particularly not of your variety," Dakota replied coldly.

"How dare you!" Courtney said, outraged and very offended. "If we want to visit him we will and it's none of your business if we do." Bridgette touched her shoulder.

"It's okay, Court," she told her. "He just doesn't want to see me." Dakota gave them a thin smile.

"You'd do well to listen to your friend," Dakota said coldly. She brushed past them and Courtney stared after her, her jaw tightening in anger. She turned back to Bridgette and softened her expression.

"Bridgette..." She put her hand on Bridgette's shoulder but Bridgette turned away and walked back to their dorm, starting to cry once again.

* * *

A week passed and Bridgette still hadn't seen or heard from Geoff at all. She'd had a couple of encounters with Dakota but they were never pleasant and just made Bridgette upset again. The next Wednesday at breakfast, Bridgette entered the dining hall with a big smile on her face. She'd hardly shown up to any meals since she found out about Geoff switching classes, and when she did come and eat she didn't stay for very long.

"Hey everyone," Bridgette greeted them all. Courtney stared at her, a little shocked at this sudden change of emotion.

"Hey Bridge," Courtney said cautiously. "Are you okay?"

"Never better," she replied, putting pepper on her scrambled eggs.

"Did Geoff apologise?" Gwen asked.

"Don't be silly!" Bridgette said cheerily. "I just realised that I don't need him, and we weren't even dating so I really have nothing to be mad or upset about." She shrugged and started eating. "I'm starving!"

"It's okay to be upset," Courtney told her. "No one blames you."

"I know, but I don't want to dwell on it. Can we talk about something else please? Have you talked to Duncan at all?"

"Um, no! Why should I talk to that Neanderthal?" Courtney protested. "I have like one class with him and whenever I see him he's always looking at me and smirking."

"He's probably thinking about what you look like naked," Gwen said, laughing. Courtney shuddered.

"Ew! I hope not! He's so gross AND he's a criminal. Justin told me he even went to juvie. I hope he goes back there, and soon so I don't have to keep seeing his stupid face."

"Speaking of Justin, what's the situation there?" Katie asked. "Are you guys dating or can I..." She trailed off. Courtney smiled.

"Well we've been spending a bit of time together after school. We aren't dating but you can keep your dirty paws away from him," Courtney said, narrowing her eyes at her sister.

"Well, I'm gonna head off," Cody announced. "Don't forget to come watch me at cheer practise this afternoon, Gwen." He kissed her and left to get ready for class. Gwen groaned as she dropped her head on the table.

"What's wrong?" Courtney asked her.

"I totally forgot I promised to watch his first cheer practise!" Gwen mumbled to the table. She lifted her head to look at Courtney. "What am I going to do?"

"Wow, gee, I don't know..." Courtney said as she hastily stood up, not wanting Gwen to ask her to come with her.

"Please Courtney come with me I don't want to go alone!" Gwen pleaded. Courtney sighed.

"Fine," she said reluctantly. Gwen hugged her.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Gwen said, relieved at not having to attend Cody's cheer practise on her own. The bell rang to signal the end of breakfast.  
"Come on, we should get to class."


	7. The talent of conversing easily

Gwen and Courtney attended Cody's cheer practise for the Netherfield Park Roses that afternoon, as they had both promised, and sat in the bleachers as they watched Lindsay bark orders to the cheer squad.

"Izzy you're doing the landing all wrong! Do it the way Zoey's doing it!" She demanded.

"Listen here, Head Cheerleader Lindsay Her Hotness, Izzy does as she likes and takes orders from no one," Izzy shot back. Lindsay groaned.

"We'll never get this routine right! Let's do it again," she ordered and they went back to their starting positions. Courtney wondered why Lindsay was making orders and not the coach but when she looked around she couldn't see the coach anywhere. She noticed Duncan enter with a brunette boy and he took a seat at the other end of the row Courtney and Gwen were sitting in and Courtney glared at him as he sat. His friend, on the other hand, walked up to Gwen and Courtney.

"She's amazing, isn't she?" Said the friend as he sat next to Courtney. "I'm her boyfriend, Tyler." He put his hand out for Courtney to shake.

"Courtney," she told him, taking his hand. "I didn't know she was so demanding."

"She's not usually," Tyler said. "It's only when she gets to be in charge of something. Are you thinking of trying out?" Courtney laughed.

"Oh god no!" She said. "I'm here for moral support. My friend Gwen here is dating Cody and she asked me to come with her."

"Okay everyone take a break, get a drink," Lindsay told the cheer team. Gwen walked onto the field to talk to Cody as Lindsay walked up to Tyler and gave him a kiss. She noticed Duncan sitting away from Tyler and Courtney and beckoned for him to join them. He rolled his eyes but joined them anyway. "What are you guys talking about?" Lindsay asked Tyler and Courtney.

"Cheerleading," Tyler told her.

"Oh my gosh that's like my favourite thing! Apart from fashion of course. Duncan, how's Eva's cheerleading going?"

"Actually, Lindsay, Eva does weightlifting, not cheerleading," Duncan informed her.

"Well I hope she practises more than my team. Did you see how bad we were just now? We'll never get it right!" She complained. Duncan merely rolled his eyes. Lindsay decided then that break time was over and the cheer team started their routine again.

"Hey Courtney do you want to sit a bit closer to the front?" Tyler asked. Courtney nodded and they moved to the front row. Gwen was leaning against the fence with her arms folded over the rail. Duncan stayed for a minute before following them to the front row and sitting next to Courtney who was having a pleasant conversation with Tyler. She jumped as Duncan sat down.

"You scared me!" She scolded him, hitting his shoulder.

"Sorry princess, it was unintentional," Duncan said smilingly. She narrowed her eyes at him.

"Don't call me princess, or I might have to tell your friend here what you were doing the first time we met," Courtney threatened.

"Go on, I'm not scared," he encouraged her, still smiling.

"Tell me, what was he doing?" Tyler asked. Courtney looked at Duncan, who had his arms folded and his eyebrows raised, daring her to say it. She turned back to Tyler, who was waiting for a response.

"Fine, I'll tell you," Courtney agreed. "The first time I saw Duncan he was sneaking into his dorm window with a stolen mug from the dining hall without even bothering to dine with everybody else."

"Did it ever occur to you that maybe I'm poor and had no other way of getting a mug? Or that I don't deal well being around strangers?"  
"Oh please, everyone knows what your financial situation is and you could easily afford a measly mug!" Courtney snapped. "And what, you couldn't acquaint yourself with some of those strangers?"

"I'm not good at introducing myself," Duncan said with a casual shrug.

"How is it, Tyler, that someone so sure of himself can't even tell a stranger his name?" Courtney wondered.

"He probably just couldn't be bothered," Tyler replied. Courtney smiled at him before turning back to Duncan.

"Exactly. How can you expect to get any better without practising? You should listen to your cousin more," Courtney said.

"Maybe I should," Duncan said shortly. He walked off, clearly annoyed at the turn the conversation had taken.

* * *

Cheer practise ended finally and Tyler and Courtney walked with each other back to the main building.

"How do you know Duncan?" Courtney asked. "Is it just because you're dating his cousin?"

"No I actually met Lindsay through Duncan," Tyler told her. "We're family friends. Do you know his sister?"

"No but I've heard about her. Dakota seems to like her," Courtney said, having briefly spoken about Eva to Dakota when Bridgette had been sick. "You know the Bingley's don't you? They're new."

"Yeah Geoff moved into one of my classes. He's good friends with Duncan."

"Yeah well he's the only person Duncan seems to be particularly friendly with," Courtney said, still a little annoyed at the rudeness of Duncan.

"So I've heard," Tyler said. "Apparently he did Geoff a bit of a favour recently. I probably shouldn't say anything though." Courtney perked up at this.

"What do you mean? I promise I won't tell anyone," Courtney assured him. Tyler hesitated.

"It might not even have been Geoff, you know?" He said, trying to get out of telling her. She folded her arms and glared at him. He sighed. "All I know is Duncan said he saved a friend from dating a girl that he shouldn't have." Courtney's jaw dropped.

"WHAT?" She screeched. She was furious! "Did he say why?" Tyler shrugged.

"Duncan had his reasons. He didn't like the girl, I don't know why."

"Who does he think he is to have the right to make a decision like that!" Courtney said, not needing an answer. Tyler was a little scared by this time and decided not to try and continue the conversation. After walking in silence for a while, they arrived at the main building at last.

"Thanks for the walk, Courtney," Tyler said as he left her. "It was nice." Courtney nodded at him and stormed off. She couldn't believe Duncan had acted so harshly - if not meant directly - towards her best friend! She was so angry and upset that she decided not to go to dinner, particularly since she didn't want to risk seeing Duncan, and went straight to bed instead.


	8. Torment

Over the next week, Courtney vowed to avoid Duncan at all costs. This proved to be more difficult than expected, as he seemed to show up to every meal when previously he would have attended maybe once a day at best. In their one class together she made sure to arrive after him so he didn't try to sit next to her, and even on her Monday afternoon visit to the Meryton Cafe Duncan was there ordering coffee for himself and Tyler. During the week Courtney resorted to eating most of her meals in her dorm and tried not to go anywhere that wasn't a class or the bathroom. Sometimes she would spot him walking towards her in the hallway and she would start a conversation with anyone that happened to be nearby.

"How does this keep happening?" Courtney wondered to Gwen as they walked to the field together to watch another of Cody's cheer practises. Lindsay had arranged for the practise to be at nighttime this week so they could get used to the environment they would be in when they performed their routine for real. It was actually a very smart concept, considering Lindsay wasn't that bright. Courtney suspected Lindsay's best friend and roommate, Zoey, had been the one to come up with it.

"You're probably just imagining it," was Gwen's explanation for how Duncan seemed to be wherever Courtney went. "Whenever you try and avoid someone you always end up seeing more of them. Like when you find out you're allergic to something and all of a sudden it's in everything." Courtney thought this seemed like a reasonable explanation and she sat back and watched the Roses practise. They looked to be doing a great deal better than when she had watched them the week before and she figured Lindsay must have organised some extra practises to get it right.

"How are things between you and Cody?" Courtney asked Gwen after a moment of silence.

"Pretty good actually," Gwen replied. "We're still sort of in the 'getting to know each other' stage but I'm actually enjoying his company. Since we've been dating I haven't seen much of Trent though." She sounded disappointed at this and Courtney smiled sympathetically. Gwen shook her head as if to clear her mind. "I'm going to stand up the front. Want to come?"

"No thanks, I'm good watching from here." Even though the routine looked much better, Courtney still didn't find watching the practise at all entertaining. While she considered herself quite competitive, sports definitely wasn't her forte.

Courtney cursed under her breath as she saw Duncan walk into the stands. Instead of sitting far away from her as he had done the week before he decided to sit next to her.

"Hey Courtney," he said to her as he sat down.

"Hello," she said shortly. Her efforts to avoid him all week had been for nothing. If only she'd seen him earlier she could have left the practise and been able to dodge conversing with him as he was surely going to want to do. He didn't start a conversation immediately though, to Courtney's relief, and they sat in silence for a while, looking at the cheerleaders but not really paying attention to what was going on.

"Can we go for a walk?" Duncan asked finally. Courtney was torn- the practise was extremely boring to watch, but she dreaded what Duncan might want to say to her. She decided she'd seen enough cheering for one day and agreed to go for a walk with Duncan.

"But no funny business!" She warned him. He smirked and they started to walk around the rest of the school grounds.

Courtney refused to be the one to start the conversation so they remained silent while he thought of how to bring up what he wanted to say.

"These last few weeks have been unbearable for me," he said finally. "I've only come to these couple of cheer practises for one reason. To see you." He stopped walking and looked at Courtney. She turned to face him. "I didn't want to feel this way, it was kind of an accident... I really like you, Courtney." She was taken aback by this sudden declaration and didn't respond. She didn't know how. He took a step closer to her and she looked him in the eye but didn't move.

"Duncan..." She whispered, not knowing what to say. Her heart was racing, with fury she was sure. He leaned in and started kissing her passionately. For a moment she was kissing him back, sliding her hands up his chest before they met behind his neck where she kept them. He took this as a positive sign and put his hands on her waist. That was when she remembered what he had done to Bridgette and she pushed him away. He looked at her, confused.

"What was that for?" He demanded.

"I'm both flattered and sorry that you feel that way about me but I don't feel the same," she replied, finally having the confidence to form a proper sentence.

"It didn't seem that way a second ago."

"Ugh!" She said in disgust, folding her arms.

"Why do you find me so repulsive?" He asked her.

"I could ask you the same about me! What, it was an accident that you like me? Like everything is so much worse because you do?"

"I didn't mean it like that!" He said, exasperated.

"I have other reasons to hate you and you know it!"

"Oh yeah, like what?"

"The fact that you separated Geoff and Bridgette," Courtney reminded him. "Do you deny it?"

"No."

"How could you?" She asked, getting upset.

"I didn't think she was as into him as he was to her," Duncan explained.

"Whenever I saw them together she just didn't seem as interested as he was."

"Because she's shy!"

"He was pretty easily persuaded that she didn't feel the way he did."

"Only because you put the idea into his head!"

"Yeah well it was his idea to switch classes, plus there were other reasons. Your friends for instance..."

"What about them?" Courtney said, daring him to insult them.

"Heather is so involved in yours and Bridgette's lives! And Katie and Sadie are the most annoying people I've ever met."

"Are you kidding me?" She gave out a cry of frustration. "And what about Justin? How do you explain what you did to him?"

"Look, I don't know what kind of ridiculous sob story he told you to make him sound like the good guy, but that guy got what was coming to him." She shook her head at him in disgust.

"How could you ever think that I would want to date you after everything you've done?" Duncan just looked at her. He had apparently had enough of this conversation.

"I'm sorry you feel that way," he said sincerely. He walked away and Courtney stomped off in the other direction.

* * *

The following afternoon, Courtney returned to her dorm to see that Bridgette was sitting on her bed, holding what appeared to be a letter.

"What's that?" Courtney asked her.

"I'm sorry!" Bridgette said. "The envelope didn't have a name on it so I opened it and started reading it, even though it had your name at the top but I was curious... I..."

"So, what is it?" Courtney repeated.

"It's from Duncan..."

"Ugh!" Said Courtney as she rolled her eyes and sat on her bed.

"I really think you should read it, Court," Bridgette told her. Courtney frowned. Bridgette held out the letter to her.

"Oh, fine!" Courtney agreed, taking the letter. She was, after all, curious what Duncan could possibly have to say after the previous night. She looked at the letter and saw that Duncan had atrocious handwriting. It was easy enough to read, though, and Courtney began.

_Courtney,_

_Before I start I just want to say that I won't be repeating anything that I said last night. The last thing I want to do is offend you and I did enough of that then. You probably want to scrunch this letter up and burn it, but I hope you'll just hear me out.  
Last night you accused me of two different things and I want a chance to explain both of them, and since you would probably just slap me and walk away if I tried to do it in person, I decided to write a letter. You know, because I'm old school. So if I offend you with this letter I'm sorry in advance because I didn't mean it.  
It was pretty obvious when we came to this school that Geoff had the hots for Bridgette, but until that second party here I didn't realise he actually had a proper crush on her. Since I'm not much of a party guy but I was dragged into going again, I mostly spent the night watching Bridgette and Geoff. The way they acted together seemed like he was more into her than she was into him. If what you told me last night is true (which since you know Bridgette better it probably is) I was clearly wrong. I didn't mean to hurt her or you and I get why you're angry with me for what I did. Let me explain why I did it, though.  
You probably already know that Dakota felt the same way I did and when she found out we had the same opinion she was pretty excited. We agreed that we didn't want Bridgette to break Geoff's heart so we tried to talk him out of asking her out. He was pretty upset and he didn't want to have to see her everyday so he changed classes. If I upset your friend, I didn't do it on purpose.  
Moving on to the the thing with Justin, who you think I did something terrible to. I don't know what he told you, but I'd like to set the record straight and tell you what happened from my side.  
When he came into my house as a foster kid, he was so annoyingly charming that my dad started to like him more than he liked me. Obviously I was jealous, I mean the guy wasn't even related to us. Dad gave him everything he asked for, as much money as he needed. Anyway, Justin was always sneaking out on Saturday nights so I thought I'd follow him to see what he was up to. Turns out the lab he'd set up in our garage wasn't being used for chemistry homework and the drugs he was making he sold to people at parties every Saturday night.  
Obviously I couldn't let a drug dealer keep living in our house - what if WE ended up getting in trouble for it? So I told my dad what Justin had been up to and he kicked Justin out. I hadn't seen him since until that day in the cafe.  
Aside from that, there is something else I have to tell you before you really understand why I hate him so much. My younger sister, Eva, was in love with Justin, even after I told her what he was doing. She would never admit to it though, so I'd prefer it if you didn't go sharing that around. Anyway, Justin knew that Eva was in love with him, and to get back at me for what I'd done he started dating her. Not only that but he convinced her that the rest of our family had ruined his life for no reason. She believed him, so they moved in together, and it wasn't until a month later when he skipped town without even leaving her a note that she came back home.  
So, that's what happened and I hope you don't think I'm lying to you and you understand why I hate Justin so much.  
You're probably wondering why I didn't say all of this last night but honestly, I had no idea how to. It's good to get it all out though, and after reading this I hope you don't hate me more than you did. Sorry for everything._

_Duncan._


	9. Men compared to rocks and mountains

Courtney didn't see or hear from Duncan at all the next few days, and the following week was a mid-term break. She had organised to go and see some family friends who owned a farm in Pemberly, a town only a few hours drive from Hertfordshire.

"Are you sure you don't want to come Katie?" Courtney asked her sister as she prepared to leave. They were standing out the front of the school and Courtney was putting her suitcase in the back of a taxi. "This is the last chance to say you do." Katie shook her head.

"I don't want to leave Sadie here alone for the week," she said. "Plus Justin is still here too." She and Sadie giggled and Courtney folded her arms.

"I don't know how I feel about you being around him. Maybe I should stay..."

"Ugh, relax Court! I'm not going to do anything stupid."

"Okay but be careful around him," Courtney said. She hugged Katie. "I'll see you in a week. Be good!" She got into the taxi and waved goodbye to Katie and Sadie, who were the only ones who had come to see her off. Bridgette and Gwen had gone home to see their families the day before and Heather was mad that Courtney wasn't staying at school to keep her company and refused to say goodbye. Katie and Sadie waved back and the taxi took off, heading for Pemberly.

* * *

The drive to Pemberly was long and boring. so Courtney was relieved to arrive at the farm at last. She was greeted by her close friends Dawn and Scott, who were dating, as well as Scott's sister Beth, who Courtney didn't particularly like but was polite to anyway.

"Courtney, so good to see you!" Dawn greeted her as she got out of the taxi. They hugged.

"Hello Beth," Courtney said. Beth grinned at her.

"Hey Courtney," Scott said.

"Hey Scott, how are you?" Courtney asked.

"Fine I guess," he replied. He took her suitcase from the trunk of the taxi as Courtney paid and the taxi driver drove off.

"How is school?" Dawn asked as they started walking towards the house. The driveway was long and the taxi driver had refused to go further than the front gate. Courtney shrugged.

"It's okay." She didn't want to tell Dawn about anything that had happened over the last few weeks, particularly since she was still so confused about it all.

"By the way, we're having lunch at the Darcy's tomorrow if you'd like to join us," Scott informed her.

"Who are the Darcy's?" Courtney asked.

"Oh, they're family friends of ours," Dawn explained. "I think you know their son Duncan? He transferred to your school a few weeks ago." Courtney stopped in her tracks.

"Duncan?" She shook off her surprise and started walking again. "I don't think I'll be going with you tomorrow."

"Relax, he isn't going to be there anyway," Scott assured her. "He was going to stay at school for the week with Geoff." They arrived at the house and Scott opened the door for Courtney and Dawn.

"What's been going on with you guys anyway?" Courtney asked them.

"My boyfriend Brady..." Beth began, but she was interrupted by Scott.

"We've been waiting for the right time to tell you... Dawn isn't just visiting like you are." Courtney looked at him a little confused.

"We moved in together!" Dawn said excitedly, which is a strange emotion on her since she's usually so calm.

"You guys, that's awesome!" Courtney said with a big smile on her face. She hugged them both, extremely happy for them. "How do your parents feel about this?"

"My parents both saw it coming in their tea leaves, so they had plenty of time to prepare themselves and were very calm about the whole thing," Dawn said.

"Ma and pa love it when Dawn helps out with the farm so they're pretty happy," Scott added. Beth stormed off, clearly annoyed that no one wanted to hear about her boyfriend Brady. Courtney noticed her anger.

"What's wrong with her?" she asked.

"She's just mad that her boyfriend isn't real," Scott said, smirking. Dawn gave him a disapproving look but her mouth curved up slightly as she did.

"Come on, dinner's already on the table," she said, and Courtney and Scott followed her to the dining room.

* * *

The next day, Scott, Dawn and Courtney arrived at the Darcy house for lunch and were greeted by their maid, a short chubby girl who seemed very excitable.

"Oh my gosh it's Dawn and Scott! Eva will be so pleased you're here. Who's your friend? I love her sweater vest! Did you know my great great grandfather invented sweater vests to..."

"This is Courtney, Staci!" Dawn interrupted before Staci could continue her story. "Can we come in?" Staci smiled and opened the door to let them in. She showed them to the living room while talking in rapid speed about her ancestors and Courtney was so in awe of the place that she didn't take in any of what Staci was saying. The living room was extremely big and the L-shaped couch took up most of it. Dawn and Scott sat on it, but Courtney remained standing, walking around the room and admiring everything.

"You can take a look around the house, if you want," Dawn told her.

"Are you sure? I wouldn't want to impose..."

"The Darcy's are very open people. I'm sure they wouldn't mind." Courtney took Dawn's word for it and left the living room through the opposite door from which they entered. The house was enormous and as she walked through so many hallways and entered so many rooms she found herself very lost within five minutes of her self-guided tour. She didn't mind, though, since it was kind of exciting and she almost felt like at any second she would find a secret passage.

Courtney hadn't seen anyone in any of the rooms yet and she was inside the gym, looking at all the trophies and certificates Duncan's younger sister had won when she heard approaching footsteps. Despite what Dawn had said, Courtney didn't want to be caught snooping and immediately hid behind one of the trophy cabinets where she could still see the door through the glass. A very buff girl with a monobrow entered, headphones in her ears. She walked to an empty space in the room and began stretching. She was stretching her arms in front of her when someone covered her eyes with their hands. The girl instinctively grabbed the stranger's hand and flung them over her shoulder onto the ground. Her face immediately fell when she realised who she'd just attacked.

"Duncan?" said the girl, pulling the headphones out of her ears.

"Hey Eva, nice to see you've been working out," Duncan groaned with a smile on his face. Eva hurried to help him up and punched him in the arm playfully. It clearly still hurt Duncan as he started rubbing his arm where she'd hit.

"You shouldn't scare me like that," she advised him.

"Yeah, thanks for the tip," he said sarcastically.

"What are you doing here? I thought you were staying at school with Geoff."

"He said he'd be fine without me and I should come see you," Duncan explained. At that moment Courtney and she silently cursed herself as Eva and Duncan peered around the cabinet to look at her. "Courtney?"

"H-hey, hi, Duncan!" she said in a poor attempt to be cool. "Fancy seeing you here."

"It's my house," Duncan reminded her. She laughed nervously.

"Oh. Right." Duncan looked at her quite confused and she looked back guiltily, even though she hadn't really done anything wrong.

"So this is Courtney?" Eva asked, folding her arms in an attempt to look more intimidating. It worked and Courtney shrunk back slightly.

"Uh, yeah," Duncan replied. "Courtney, this is my sister Eva."

"Pleasure," said Courtney awkwardly.

"What are you doing here?" Duncan asked her, still very confused.

"I came here for lunch," Courtney explained. He looked at her blankly. "With Scott and Dawn. Dawn said it would be okay if I looked around. Is it not okay?"

"No, it's okay," he assured her.

"If they're here I'd better go greet them," Eva said reluctantly. She left the room.

"She doesn't like Scott and Dawn?" Courtney asked.

"No she does, she just tries to look tough around people she doesn't know," Duncan explained. "Do you want me to show you to the dining room?

"No thanks, I have a great sense of direction. I'm sure I can find it myself," Courtney said confidently. Duncan folded his arms and looked at her disdainfully.

"Seriously?" he asked. Courtney sighed.

"No! This stupid house is way too big! How many rooms do you need? Also I'm pretty sure one or two entrances to each room would suffice so why do they all have like a million?" Courtney complained. Duncan laughed at her. She gave him a shove and headed towards the door she thought Eva had left through.

"Courtney wait!" Duncan called as if he was about to apologise. She turned to face him and waited for his apology. "You're going the wrong way." He started laughing again and she clenched her fists. He started towards the door Eva had actually left through and jerked his head in its direction. "Come on princess, I'll show you the way."

* * *

The lunch was surprisingly pleasant, despite the fact that Courtney thought it would be incredibly awkward with Duncan there. Eva, Dawn and Scott kept the conversation flowing but Courtney and Duncan were able to input every now and then. Courtney noticed that Eva started to warm up to her and stopped glaring her way all the time. Neither Duncan or Courtney brought up what had happened the last time they'd seen each other, and after lunch Duncan offered to take them for a proper tour of the house and Courtney, Scott and Dawn agreed.

The way Duncan took them made a lot more sense than the way Courtney had gone and she started to realise where each door led. She still thought the amount of rooms was a bit excessive and the house didn't need to be so big.

"So that's the house," Duncan concluded at the end of the tour. "Do you want to see the garden?"

"I think Scott and I have had enough for today," Dawn said. "If Courtney wants to see the garden we can wait inside though."

"I'd love to see the garden," Courtney said to Duncan. He held out his arm for her and she took it. They headed outside where the sun was starting to go down. They walked down a cobblestone path out the back of the house, walking in a comfortable silence for a while before Courtney decided to break it.

"You have a lovely house," she said.

"Thanks, Eva's the only one who really gets to be here. My parents are always working and obviously I'm at boarding school now," Duncan replied. "What do you think of Eva?"

"She's... a very interesting character," said Courtney. He laughed.

"You could say that." Courtney covered her mouth, realising what she'd just said.

"No I didn't mean... She'd probably lovely but she comes off a bit... Hateful."

"It's okay, I get it." Duncan smiled at her and she smiled back. "Courtney..." Her phone started to ring and she reached into her pocket. She looked at the caller ID and saw it was her mother.

"I'm sorry, I have to take this. Hold that thought," she said. "Hello?" Duncan could hear the person on the other end talking very quickly and they sounded upset. "Okay, slow down I can't understand what you're saying... She what?" Her face fell as she listened. She covered her mouth in shock and tears started to form in her eyes. "Ugh, I told her! Is she okay?... Well where is she now?... Okay I'll come as soon as I can." She hung up the phone and looked at Duncan, tears streaming down her face. "I'm so sorry, I have to go."

"What happened? Do you want me to-"

"No," she said softly. "Thank you." She ran up the path and didn't glance back.

**Hey everyone, hope you're enjoying this story! Just want to wish you all a Merry Christmas :)**


	10. Chapter 10

Courtney bade farewell to Dawn and Scott and immediately headed back to Hertfordshire, not bothering to get her stuff from the farm. She gave a brief explanation as to why she had to hurry off, but even she didn't have much information herself to properly tell them what had happened, even if she had time to explain. When the taxi dropped her off at the hospital she ran inside and went straight to the front desk.

"I'm here to see my sister, Katherine Bennett," she said urgently. The receptionist gave her a room number and she hurried off. Katie was asleep when Courtney walked in. She had a couple of scratches on her face but aside from that she didn't look too badly injured. Sadie was already sitting in the room with her and stood up when she saw Courtney.

"I'm so sorry Courtney!" Sadie wailed. "I should've told her not to go! It's my fault!" Courtney pulled her into a hug, just needing to be close to someone in such an upsetting time.

"It's okay. Where's mom and dad?" She asked, releasing Sadie.

"They haven't arrived yet." Sadie wiped the tears from her cheeks.

"Okay, it's okay," Courtney assured her, even though she was still shaken herself. "Let's just sit down and you can tell me what happened." Sadie nodded and they both sat down.

"Justin invited her for a drive around town," Sadie began, having calmed a little. "She was so excited, you know how she has a major crush on Justin. I was excited too because Justin is like, super hot. We kind of didn't take your warning seriously because we had no idea why you were so against him. So she decided to go even though we knew Justin didn't have his licence. It was like, the first thing he told us, because he said he didn't want us to find out his flaws later. I don't know what happened exactly after that, because I haven't had a chance to talk to Katie yet, but the police were chasing them and then... and then... They crashed!" Sadie burst into tears and Courtney put her arm around her. Katie moaned and half opened her eyes.

"Courtney?" She groaned. Courtney took Katie's hand.

"Hey, are you okay?" Courtney said softly. Katie blinked and moved her head slightly to look at Sadie.

"Sadie?" Sadie smiled at Katie sympathetically. "Where's Justin?"

"He's already gone home. He's fine," Sadie told her.

"He didn't stay?" Katie sounded disappointed. Courtney and Katie's parents rushed in and breathed a sigh of relief to see their daughter safe and sound. Their mother ran to Katie's side and hugged her.

"Thank god you're alright!" She said, letting Katie out of the hug and kissing her face a few times before pulling her back in.

"Mom!" Katie whined. "I'm fine. I have a fractured wrist and a few cuts plus they want to keep me here overnight to run a few tests but I'll be able to leave tomorrow."

"Are you okay Court?" Their dad asked. Courtney nodded.

"Now that you're both here and I know Katie's alright I think I'll head back to school," she said. She gave Katie a hug. "I'll see you tomorrow." She headed towards the door.

"Courtney," Katie said. Courtney turned to face her. "I'm sorry you didn't get to stay longer with Dawn and Scott." Courtney smiled sadly at her.  
"Me too."

* * *

Heather was pleased to see Courtney back at school, though when Courtney told her why she was there her happiness was short-lived.

"I can't believe that jerk!" Heather complained angrily. "How could he just... I mean he... Ugh!" She sat down on her bed next to Courtney. They were in Heather's dorm, since Bridgette wasn't staying at school and Courtney didn't want to be alone. Courtney just sat there in silence. "Are you okay?" Heather's voice had softened and Courtney looked up at her.

"Yeah, I'm just tired," she lied. She was so much more than tired. She was upset about what had happened to Katie, mad at Katie for being so reckless and forcing her to come home early, and most of all she was disappointed that she hadn't been able to stay longer. She told herself it was because she hadn't seen Dawn and Scott in so long, but a part of her had wanted to see more of Duncan, since it seemed that maybe he wasn't as bad as she'd originally thought, that maybe he really was the person in the letter.

"You can stay in here tonight if you want," Heather told Courtney. "Jo isn't here this week and I'm sure she wouldn't mind. Even if she did mind she isn't here to object."

"Thanks, that would be nice," Courtney said. She gave Heather a half-hearted smile and decided then that it was time for bed.

* * *

Katie was back for lunch the next day with a big smile on her face. When Courtney saw her she hurried over and gave her a hug.

"Are you okay?" Courtney asked.

"Of course! The tests were all good so they let me leave. Mom and dad are staying in town for a couple more days though," Katie replied, rolling her eyes.

"Good. Now that you're alright, you owe me an explanation," Courtney demanded. They walked back over to where Heather, Alejandro and Noah were sitting eating their lunch. "Why did you agree to get in a car with a guy who can't drive? More importantly, why were the police chasing him?" Katie rolled her eyes again, tired of being lectured.

"Look, Justin is like, super hot," Katie said as if that was explanation enough. "As for the police thing... Well, it turns out we were in a stolen car." Courtney was dumbfounded.

"A stolen... Oh my god Katie are you crazy? You could have died! Then where would we be?" Courtney scolded her. "It's bad enough as it is. How are mom and dad going to pay the medical bills? You know they don't have that kind of money. I hope you intend on getting a part time job to help them pay it off." Heather and Alejandro just sat there watching them argue, not even pretending not to listen. Noah at least had the courtesy to pretend to read, though it was clear from the way he kept looking up and never turned a page that he was listening, too.

"I won't have to," Katie told Courtney.

"What do you mean you won't have to?" Courtney asked angrily. "I hope they haven't let you off the hook because you're injured. If I'm the one who has to end up working to pay for your bad decisions..."

"That's not what I meant," Katie interrupted. "I won't have to because it's already been paid for."

"Really? How did our parents get the money?" Courtney wondered. Katie rolled her eyes once again, getting impatient.

"Our parents didn't pay!" Courtney cocked her head, getting more confused by the second.

"Then who?" She asked. Katie looked over at someone and Courtney followed her gaze to see Duncan enter the dining hall. Her stomach filled with butterflies.

"He got back late last night and came into the hospital this morning," Katie told her. "He paid for everything, no questions asked. But don't tell him I told you because he told me not to say anything." Courtney's mouth was open in shock.

"How did he know?" She asked. Katie shrugged.

"Scott and Dawn?" Courtney nodded, thinking that would make sense. She tried to catch Duncan's eye as he sat at a table but he didn't look at her and sat with his back to her. She looked at her plate, disappointed, though she wasn't sure why. Just a week ago she had tried to avoid any interaction with him, and now it almost seemed as if she were craving even a glance on her direction from him. Sadie walked up to the table and sat down. She had a big smile on her face.

"Guess who's back?" She said excitedly. None of them really wanted to guess so they just looked at her until she told them. She jerked her head in the direction of Geoff, who was taking a seat beside Duncan.

"He never left," Alejandro reminded her.

"No but in case none of you noticed, he hasn't been dining with us at all since he switched classes."

"Maybe he knows Bridgette isn't here and can finally come out of his hole," Heather said. Courtney hit her and Heather glared back. They turned their attention to Geoff and Duncan, who seemed to be having an argument. Geoff stood up, said something to Duncan and walked off. Heather gasped.

"He's coming this way, everyone act normal!" She said. They all turned back to their food and Geoff approached them. Heather began telling a fake story. "And then Courtney showed up and saved the day! It was great timing." She turned to face Geoff. "Oh hey Geoff! What's up?" He stood there awkwardly.

"Hey Heather, hey everyone," Geoff said. "Uh, have any of you seen Bridgette?"

"She went to see her family for the holiday," Courtney told him.

"Oh," he said disappointedly. "Do you know when she'll be back?"

"Not until Sunday, and she probably won't want to see anyone until Monday." Geoff nodded.

"Okay, well uh... Tell her I say hey." He walked out of the hall, slightly deflated.

"Do you think he'll change back to his old classes?" Heather asked excitedly, still hoping things will work between Geoff and Bridgette.

"No, because you're not allowed to switch classes twice," Noah reminded her. She huffed.

"Everyone knows his family gives the school the most money. If he wants to change classes twice, they'll let him."


	11. A hundred times yes

The following Monday everyone had returned from their holidays and Courtney, Heather, Alejandro and Noah were sitting in the dining hall, eating breakfast. Courtney was playing with her food with a fork, resting her head in her hand. Gwen came up and sat next to her.

"Hey Gwen!" Courtney greeted her, lifting her head and smiling at her friend. "How were your holidays? And where's Cody?" Gwen smiled back and jerked her head towards Cody, who was sitting next to Sierra.

"We broke up," Gwen said, not seeming at all upset. Courtney looked at her blankly, waiting for an explanation. "I was going to meet his parents over the holiday and I realised that I just didn't feel that way towards him, and I never would. Luckily he was the one who brought up the topic of breaking up. He told me he was still in love with Sierra, and I said it was okay because I was still in love with..."

"Hey," a voice interrupted behind her. She turned around to see Trent. "Mind if I sit with you guys?" Gwen nodded.

"Of course not. Sit down," she said. He took the seat next to her.

"Who are you still in love with?" He asked, having heard the end of the conversation. Gwen's eyes widened as she tried to think up a believable lie.  
"Um... Just a band that I like," she said quickly. "You probably wouldn't know them."

"Oh," he replied, seeming disappointed at that answer. Courtney noticed this and smiled, elbowing Gwen in the ribs. Gwen glared back. Heather rolled her eyes.

"If you're all done with your flirting and not-so-subtle hinting, I'm going to get ready for class," she told them. "Coming Courtney?"

* * *

Bridgette joined everyone in the dining hall at lunch, which is the first anyone had seen of her except Courtney, who'd briefly spoken to her the previous night when she got back.

"Hey everyone," Bridgette said as she sat down between Heather and Courtney.  
"Hello Bridgette, did you have a nice holiday?" Alejandro asked her. She nodded.

"Yeah it was good," she replied. "Did I miss anything while I was gone?"  
"Geoff wants to talk to you," Heather said quickly. Then, she offhandedly added, "also Gwen and Cody broke up."

"You did? Oh I'm so sorry!" Bridgette said. Heather rolled her eyes.  
"That's not important! You were supposed to focus on the first part of my sentence!" She complained.

"Geoff wants to talk to me?" Bridgette asked. "About what?"

"I don't know, maybe he wants to take you on a boat ride and talk about deep sea fishing! Who cares? Just go talk to him!" Heather demanded. Bridgette was about to get up to find Geoff but was saved the trouble as he was headed towards her.

"Hey, Bridge," he said. "Uh, can we... Can we take a walk?" Bridgette turned to look at her friends. Heather nodded at her, smiling smugly. She turned back to Geoff.

"Sure," she said and they headed toward the exit of the dining hall, walking close together but not touching. They walked outside and headed towards the football field.

"I owe you an apology," Geoff began. "And an explanation."

"You don't owe me anything," Bridgette told him. He sighed.

"Yes, I do. I hurt you, and I didn't realise I had. I didn't think I had the power to hurt you." They walked around the outside of the field, watching some of the students kicking the ball around. "I really liked you, Bridge. I still do. But Duncan and Dakota had me convinced that you didn't feel the same, and that hurt me. I couldn't bear to see you everyday knowing we never had a chance, after all the time we'd spent together. I moved classes so that maybe it would hurt a little less." Bridgette had her hands in her pockets and was looking at her feet as they walked. "I changed my classes back to how they were before. I'm so sorry Bridgette, I never should have listened to Duncan and Dakota. I don't expect you to forgive me, but maybe we can start over?" Bridgette finally looked up at him.

"I don't want to start over," she told him. "I forgive you. It was a silly mistake and we were both hurt from it, but I think it would be better if we just forget it ever happened." Geoff grinned at her.

"That sounds awesome," he said. "So this might sound a little rushed but... Would you maybe want to be my girlfriend?" Bridgette grinned back at him.  
"Of course!"

"Can I kiss you?"

"You don't have to ask." He put his arms around her waist and she put hers around his neck and they kissed.

* * *

Geoff and Bridgette walked back into the dining hall hand in hand, both unable to wipe the smiles off their faces. When she saw them enter, Heather started to smile as well.

"We have some good news!" Bridgette announced. Heather stood up.

"Finally!" She said, hugging them both. "I am so happy for the two of you."

"Thanks Heather," said Bridgette. "We should get ready for class." She and Geoff left, still holding hands. Heather sat back down.

"One down, one to go," she said. "What are we going to do about you Courtney? You didn't want Cody, Duncan is a definite no... Ooh, I know! How about I set you up with Alejandro's older brother?"

"Heather I don't want any of your friends dating my brother," Alejandro said, folding his arms.

"Why not? Jose is as good if not better than anyone else at this school."

"I appreciate the offer, Heather, but I'm good," Courtney told her. "Why don't you try and set Noah up? I'm sure he'd love a girlfriend." Heather stared at her.

"Oh my god. Who is it?"

"Who's what?" Courtney asked, confused.

"The guy that you have a crush on!" Heather replied.

"I don't know what you're talking about, and I don't really feel like discussing this anymore." Courtney got up and started to leave.

"You can't keep it from me forever!" Heather called after her. Courtney smiled and shook her head.

* * *

That afternoon when school had finished, Courtney was sitting cross legged on her bed, flicking through a magazine and eating cookies when someone knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" She called.

"It's Gwen."

"Come in." Gwen entered and sat on the other end of Courtney's bed. "Hey, what's up?"

"How come you didn't come to the cafe this afternoon?" Gwen asked.

"Oh, I just wasn't really feeling up to it," Courtney replied. She hadn't really felt up to anything the past week. "Did you guys have fun?" Gwen nodded.

"I'm really worried about you," she said. "Are you okay? You seem upset." Courtney's mouth quivered but she quickly turned it into a smile.

"Why should I be upset? My sister's alive, one of my best friends just got into a relationship with the man of her dreams. Just because I passed up my only chance of happiness in high school doesn't mean I'm upset." Gwen tilted her head and gave Courtney a sympathetic look.

"I don't know what you mean by that, but I know you'll get another chance at happiness. Actually, that's kind of what I wanted to talk to you about. When Cody asked me out I jumped at the opportunity. I thought that the only way I could get over Trent and be happy was if I got with someone else. But the thing was that the someone else couldn't make me happy." Gwen took Courtney's hands in hers and Courtney looked at her uncertainly, not sure where she was going with this. "I got my chance, Courtney."

"What do you mean?"

"This afternoon Trent joined us at the cafe. He walked with me on the way home, and it turns out he's felt the same way about me as I have about him for just as long!"

"So, what, are you guys dating now?" Courtney asked. Gwen nodded.

"Yeah, it's apparently just that kind of day," she said, referring to how Geoff and Bridgette had also got together that day. "If one of us had been confident enough to admit our feelings sooner, we both could have been happy for a lot longer. I don't know who it is that you have a crush on, but I think you should tell him. At least then you'll know for sure, right?"

"You need to stop spending so much time with Heather. I don't have a crush on anyone!" Courtney told her. Before Gwen could respond, there came another knock on the door. Gwen got up and opened it to see Lindsay.

"Can I help you?" Gwen asked.

"Do I have the wrong room? I'm looking for Courtney," Lindsay said.

"No this is her room," Gwen said. She opened the door wider to let Lindsay in and turned to Courtney. "I'll leave you to it." She left, leaving Lindsay and Courtney alone.

"Lindsay, what can I do for you?" Courtney said politely.

"I need you to confirm something for me."


	12. So Blind

"What do you need me to confirm?" Courtney asked as Lindsay sat across from Courtney on Bridgette's bed.

"Okay so I'm pretty sure my best friend Zoey is like, in a relationship with my cousin Duncan," Lindsay began. "But someone told me that he'd asked you out or he was planning to ask you out and I just want to make sure that's not true."

"Who told you that?"

"Tyler," Lindsay replied. Courtney half laughed and half sighed at this.

"Look, Duncan and I kissed, but I wasn't aware that he was in a relationship," Courtney told her angrily, annoyed that Lindsay would accuse her of being the other woman. "I made it clear to him that nothing else would ever happen between us."

"Okay well can you promise me something?" Lindsay asked, standing up.

"That depends on what it is you want me to promise you," Courtney said, also standing and folding her arms.

"If he does try to ask you out, don't say yes," Lindsay said. Courtney tightened her jaw.

"If what you've told me is true and he is dating Zoey I don't know why he would try and ask me out," Courtney pointed out. "And for another thing, I'm not going to make any promises to anyone regarding my happiness with someone else." Lindsay was a bit taken aback by this.

"Oh... Okay," she said. "I feel like you've totally taken what I was trying to say the wrong way. I'm just trying to look out for my friend."

"And I'm just trying not to get hurt," Courtney said, her voice shaking. She wasn't even angry anymore, just upset, and she was holding back tears. "Now if you're done accusing me of things, I'd like you to leave." Lindsay got up and left silently, more confused than usual. Courtney fell back onto her bed and started to cry, though she wasn't quite sure why. She didn't think she cared about Duncan that much, but then maybe it was a combination of the fact that he'd made her the other woman without her knowing and then Lindsay had told her off for it. She rolled onto her stomach and cried into her pillow. She heard the door open and someone stood there awkwardly for a second before sitting beside her on the bed and put their arm softly on her back. Courtney sat up and cried into Bridgette's shoulder as Bridgette gently stroked her hair. She lifted her head to look at Bridgette.

"Why does everyone get to be happy except me?"

* * *

For the rest of the week, Courtney barely talked to anyone. She went to all of her classes and showed up to every meal but she avoided any question she couldn't answer with a 'yes', 'no' or 'fine'. Duncan made several attempts to talk to her but she ignored him every time. When he tried to sit next to her in their class together she immediately moved and made sure she had someone on either side of her so he couldn't move near her.

"Guys, what is going on with Courtney?" Gwen asked Heather and Bridgette as they sat in Gwen's dorm on Friday night. She was one of the few lucky students who didn't have to share a dorm, so when the girls wanted to have a slumber party they would stay in Gwen's or Courtney and Bridgette's dorm. Since Courtney didn't want to talk to any of them, they had opted for Gwen's.

"She's never been this quiet," Bridgette agreed. "I've tried to talk to her when it's just us in our dorm but she always just says she's tired and then goes straight to bed." Heather sighed and shook her head.

"I know what it is," Heather said. Bridgette and Gwen looked at her, surprised. "Well isn't it obvious? Of course not, you're both amateurs."  
"We'll get back to the insult later, after you've told us what it is," said Gwen.

"At first I thought it was just a little crush. I don't know how I was so blind. She's in love. That's all there is to it," Heather told them. Gwen laughed.

"Okay, let's just say she is in love. Who would it be with? She hasn't talked to any guys in ages," Bridgette pointed out.

"Yeah, unless she's in love with Noah," Gwen added. Then, quite seriously she said, "Or she could be a lesbian."

"That would explain why she's so upset," Bridgette agreed. "Realising you're a lesbian would probably be very confusing." Heather scoffed.

"Now you're just being ridiculous! Bridgette, you've known Courtney the longest and therefore would know better than her that she's not a lesbian," Heather said. "She could be in love with Alejandro, which would make her upset because it's her best friend's boyfriend, but I doubt it since she didn't even consider a date with his brother."

"Excuse me, who said you were her best friend?" Gwen asked.

"Oh please, like you would be her best friend," Heather said.

"Maybe we should just leave it be," Bridgette suggested, interrupting the argument before it could really start. "She'll tell us when she's ready." Gwen and Heather agreed and they all went to bed.

* * *

The next morning Courtney was woken up by a knock on the door. She half opened her eyes and groaned. The knock came again.

"I'm coming!" Courtney called sleepily. She sat up and yawned before getting out of bed, walking to the door and opening it.

"Hey princess, do you always wake up this beautiful?" Duncan greeted her. She squeaked and slammed the door, pushing her back against it. "Come on, Courtney you haven't talked to me all week! What do you say you get dressed and we go for a walk? It's a nice morning."

"Do you always get up this early?" Courtney called to him.

"No, but I figured it would be the only time I'd be able to catch you without giving you the opportunity to run away from me," he replied. He waited for her to answer but she remained silent. "I don't know what I did to upset you this time but I'm hoping this coffee I brought you will make it up to you. Unless I'm waiting here so long that it goes cold, but then I'm hoping that the fact I stayed here that long will prove that I'm sorry for whatever I did." As soon as Courtney had heard the word 'coffee' she had immediately rushed to get dressed and brush her hair. She opened the door.

"Is this you agreeing to go for a walk with me?" Duncan asked.

"It's a small price to pay for a coffee," Courtney replied with a smile. She went to grab the coffee from him but he pulled it away. She put her hands on her hips.

"Do you promise you won't run away from me?" he asked. Courtney rolled her eyes.

"Fine," she said reluctantly. Duncan handed her the coffee and they started walking. They walked outside around the front of the school where there was a lovely rose garden.

"How come you've been ignoring me?" Duncan asked.

"Why didn't you tell me you were dating Zoey?" Courtney demanded. Duncan stopped walking and turned to Courtney, grabbing her arm to stop her from walking on.

"Wait, that's what this is about? Who even told you that?"

"Your cousin. But since you didn't deny it I'm assuming it's true," Courtney said. Duncan laughed.

"Lindsay's been trying to get me with Zoey since forever. She probably just forgot that it was only what she wanted and started to believe it was true." Courtney looked at him, confused.

"So you're not dating her?" She smiled.

"Of course not! Can you imagine that? Do you know how annoying she is?" They both laughed and Courtney's heart leaped. "But wait, why do you care so much?"

"Oh... I just really hate Zoey and... Can't stand to see her happy?" Courtney said, hoping it was a good enough lie.

"That's not very nice," Duncan said. "I like that. But now that we're on the subject, I need you to know something. What I said to you that night before I wrote you the letter... I still feel the same. Actually that's a lie, I feel more than that. Courtney, I'm in love with you." Courtney grinned at him. She leaned in and started kissing him. He kissed her back as she wrapped her arms around his neck. He stopped kissing her for a minute. "Wait, so what does this mean?"

"I'm in love with you too, you idiot!" Courtney replied and she pulled him back into the kiss.

* * *

Courtney joined the others at breakfast that morning with a big smile on her face. Everyone was pleased that she had stopped being sad but they were all confused at this sudden change in character.

"Hey, Courtney..." Gwen said, trying to think of a way to approach the subject delicately. "It's nice to see you smiling again."

"Oh yeah!" Courtney said happily. "Something happened this morning." Duncan approached their group and sat down, planting a kiss on Courtney. Everyone stared at them, mouths open in shock.

"But you hate him!" Heather protested. Courtney shrugged.

"Turns out we were all wrong about him, me more than anyone," she explained. She turned to Alejandro. "Do I have you're blessing?" She said this to spite Heather, who was outraged that she was asking Alejandro and not her.

"Uh... Of course," Alejandro replied.

"What's wrong Heather? I would've thought you'd be pleased," Courtney said. Heather folded her arms.

"Yeah, I'm thrilled." Courtney and Duncan smiled at each other, and finally, everyone was happy.

**Note: This is the final chapter of "Pride and Drama". Thanks to all those who read and reviewed it, it's been really fun! If you have any requests as to a movie/ Jane Austen novel / Shakespeare play (or something random) that you want to see a Total Drama fic of just message me and I'll see what I can do, I'm open to any ideas :) Thanks again!**


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